Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) joins the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration (USCCB/COM), Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA), and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), in urging DHS and its components to remove barriers to healthcare access so that immigrants may safely comply with government recommendations during this global pandemic health crisis. Specifically, we ask that DHS review all immigration enforcement activities and operations, particularly suspending activities at sensitive locations, and broadly release explicit guidance that the public charge rule does not apply during this COVID-19 outbreak. We strongly urge your agency and its components to take these additional measures in the interest of slowing the virus’s spread and protecting human life.

Advocacy & Social Policy Initiatives

CCUSA's Advocacy and Social Policy team advocates for policies that uphold human dignity and promote integral human development. Informed by the experience of local Catholic Charities agencies, the team urges policy makers to encounter the needy and vulnerable in their communities and to create policies which assist and support them.